In the combustion of a fuel, such as coal, oil, peat, waste, etc., in a combustion plant, such as those associated with boiler systems for providing steam to a power plant, a process gas or flue gas is generated. Such a flue gas will often contain, among other things, carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). The negative environmental effects of releasing carbon dioxide to the atmosphere have been widely recognized, and have resulted in the development of processes adapted for removing carbon dioxide from the hot process gas generated in the combustion of the above mentioned fuels.
Known systems include chilled ammonia based systems. Chilled ammonia based systems can capture and/or remove CO2 from a gas stream. For example, absorption of CO2 from a gas stream can be achieved by contacting a chilled ionic ammonia solution (or slurry) with a flue gas stream that contains CO2. These systems can include strippers for removing ammonia from water and returning the water to the process. The strippers operate at predetermined temperatures. The operating temperature affects energy efficiency.
What is needed is a method and system permitting the reduction of the operational temperature for strippers in gas stream processing.